I think of everything I do for every guest as being just for them. And then I do it just for the next guest and just for the next guest… when the guest also feels that you did it just for them, that’s the perfect stay!
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Christmas is not a political or religious expression. It has a pagan origin and is celebrated in some form in all cultures.
None of my guest have ever been offended, they would have a big problem if they were. The whole valley is full of lights and trees, impossible to avoid.
We get guests from all over the world come to visit and see the trees, lights and markets. Not having a tree and decorations would be a disappointment for them.
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That’s what we do every year. We get a nice 34” fresh wreathe because our guests in December are almost exclusively families doing the holidays. No garland as we find it to be a fire hazard.
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Looks beautiful! Happy Holidays.
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I don’t necessariy see it as anyone being offended. I just don’t see the point, in an entire place listing, of hosts going to the trouble of putting up Christmas decorations or a tree if the people who will be staying over Christmas couldn’t care less, or aren’t Chrstians.
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So what about the cow?
RR
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Well, I used three metal deer (which my brother-in-law says are all actually elk). I wanted a fourth animal and didn’t have another deer. So I used my oldest sister’s vintage metal cow bank.
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The Winter Solstice…
When I lived in Bahrain, a Muslim country, National Day was celebrated on 18th December, with the whole island lit up spectacularly, both inside and out. Many Bahraini families had Christmas trees in their home as well as exterior lights. National Day was the beginning of a truly inclusive festive period for all.
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As do we, and the majority are happy to get with the Christmas spirit.
The Christmas “spirit” sometimes pops up in the most unusual places. A couple of years ago someone sent me a pic of an illuminated Santa on a balcony in an extremely pious area in Istanbul, something that a few years ago would have stones thrown at it, or worse. Now the shops are full of Christmas tat for weeks beforehand.
Here in España, gift giving traditionally doesn’t happen until the 6th January, three kings day (Epiphany), and it’s the three kings who being the presents, not Papa Noel! It’s a day of celebration, parades, fiestas and lots of excited children!
JF
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It works well! The cow blends in nicely with the elks and they all look like raindeers. Happy Holidays!
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I regret to report to Chris that in the US small numbers of extremist Christians (a term like Talibaptists doesn’t seem inappropriate) have in fact made it a political/social/cultural/religious issue. If you haven’t heard of the so-called War on Christmas, you are fortunate. Stores are criticized for using “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” So if one hosts in the US it’s not at all odd to wonder if someone will be offended by their Airbnb decor or lack of.
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It’s beautiful and your ceiling is amazing!
We don’t decorate our portion of the house for the holidays, and since we live in a forest we don’t need to bring a tree inside. In the guests suite I put a few stuffed items - an elf, a white bear with a hat and muffler, a moose with a muffler, and a florist sleigh pulled by what I determine to be an elk, by my Field Guide to North American Mammals. The sleigh has a bit of artificial greenery and berries in it. It is just a touch of seasonal fun, nothing more, no religious affiliation. We have guests for 3 nights over the Christmas dates, I presume that our seasonal-ness will be enough.
Also, my friends in China (also Taiwan) are very fond of celebrating Christmas, as it is seasonal and “western” without being religious.
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We are putting a little rosemary “tree” in each apartment as well as some mistletoe in one of the doorways in the apartments for the 2 couples (but not the apartment for the person coming solo) and we’ll do stuffed stockings for Christmas morning. All 3 sets of our guests specifically mentioned “Christmas” when they booked so am not going to worry about any insinuations or offensiveness as they seem to be celebrating Christmas.
FWIW, I was not raised in a Christian household. My step-dad was Muslim and my mom was Taoist. However, we always had a tree and stockings. It seems merely seasonal and not religious whatsoever to me.
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That’s my philosophy. Hosting can be hard work and I avoid adding to it if at all possible. (Plus, I don’t decorate at home because it’s often tacky and it’s an unnecessary expense that I can do without).
I don’t think it offends anyone as such, but like muddy, I just don’t see the point.
Christmas is commercial and expensive these days so I opted out of the whole thing years ago,
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I totally understand this! And I would surely feel differently if I was in Florida as I did feel differently when I was in Texas and Southern California.
However, some of the winter traditions (which is what they truly are as they overlap and come from many backgrounds, not just Christmas) make more sense now that I live somewhere where the sunset is at 4pm and there’s not even 10 hours of daylight each day and all of the trees have been bare for months already. So a little tree in the house is a good reminder of the Spring that will surely come again and the extra lights on the houses and businesses, well, we need as many lights as we can get this time of year and the dark and the cold makes people depressed/angry/tired so the gifts and parties and extra sweets make sense too 
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Why did I think you lived in TX or AZ? Do you live in AK?
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Not sure, but that is my home state. Did I maybe say “all y’all”?
I had to think about whether that was Arkansas or Alaska, but neither 
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I have three separate AirBnB houses and I do decorate the AirBnB houses for Christmas. And the tree and decorations are in the cover photo and the holiday is referenced in the listing title. I’m in an area when most of my AirBnB guests during December are coming to visit family for the holidays. I don’t know if they expect Christmas decor, but I’m pretty sure they appreciate having it. Some of the Christmas guests this year are repeats from last year who booked months in advance.
In a warm weather area, particularly a warm weather resort type area, this wouldn’t fly. But i’m in an area that has at least the possibility of white Christmases, and people usually come here for family reasons or for work. This area is not racially or ethnically diversified…it’s something like 98% Caucasian and either Christian or agnostic/atheist/non-practicing. I know virtually every member of the Jewish faith in our area (and I can count them on my fingers, there are so few). The nearest Jewish synagogue is a 2 hour drive. I don’t know of any Muslim mosques, or Hindu or Buddhist temples closer than 40 miles from here. So the chances of my guests being offended by Christmas decor are pretty slim. The chance that they are attracted by it and I get extra bookings because of it is pretty high.
I see it as a way to attract more bookings during the season and make my listings stand out above the others. I see only one other AirBnB in the area that decorates for Christmas and the listing doesn’t make a big deal of it; it just shows one photo of a Christmas tree. Maybe there are more local hosts that do it but, if so, they don’t bother mentioning it in the listing or putting any photos of it in their listing.
My husband and I sometimes travel at Christmas and I’d like to find a seasonally decorated place to stay but usually either end up doing without or bringing my own tree and lights. I wish more hosts would do even a little something…some lights and a few decorations even if not a tree…to make it seem more like Christmas.
I even have one of the houses themed as the Polar Express house.
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